May 14, 2012

Melted Swiss cheese, asparagus, proscuitto, arugula and garlic mayonnaise pressed in a ciabatta. Did that just make your stomach growl?

Panini's are the perfect weeknight meal, they come together quickly and you can literally clean out your refrigerator coming up with new variations. If you can make a grilled cheese, you can make a panini, that's how easy it is and you don't need a fancy panini press to make it. Prior to owning a panini press, I used my George Forman grill or you could even use a grill pan on the stove and place an iron skillet on top to press it down.

I grilled the asparagus right on the panini press, so there's no dirtying extra pans. You can make this a meatless Monday by leaving the ham out for 8 pts plus, it will still taste great!

Preheat panini grill. Lightly spritz asparagus with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. When the grill is hot, grill asparagus about 3-4 minutes until tender crisp. Set aside.

Combine mayonnaise and garlic in a small bowl. Spread the garlic mayonnaise inside the ciabatta. Lay the cheese, prosciutto and asparagus in the bread; close and lightly spray the top with cooking spray.

Place on a panini press and close until the cheese melts and the bread is toasted. Cut in half and eat immediately.

I just used two skillets - placed the sandwich in the bottom one, place the second skillet on top w/a heavy rock from my garden cleaned & wrapped in a dish towel placed in that. Press down & flip sandwich after a few minutes.

I read in Good Housekeeping once about using a waffle iron as a panini press. The hinges are fixed so it won't press completely evenly, but it works pretty well! We call them waffle sandwiches in my house.

I've found that sometimes asparagus is hard to bite through... I can imagine that it would also be the case in a sandwich, you might end up with asparagus slapping you in the face as you try to eat. Maybe chopping it into bit sized pieces would solve this problem?

or maybe I'm the only one who ever slaps herself in the face with asparagus.

Great recipe! Very tasty & filling. One small thing. The arugula is left off the instructions. I figured it went with the rest of the fillings as in your pics above (I printed it w/o pictures), but I just wanted to mention it to you!

I made these today without a panini press.. instead I grilled outside on my grill and stuck heavy cast iron pans on top :) worked like a charm. I couldn't find argula at my grocery store either, so I used another green. Still tasted good :)

Just made this and it was AMAZING!!! I ALMOST left out the garlic mayo (even though I'm a garlic nut!), but left it in and I AM SO GLAD I put it in!!! It gave such an amazing flavor. Thanks again for another fabulous recipe!!!

To those that don't have a panini press. I use an electric indoor grill and I wrap a small brick with aluminum foil and that works really good for me. Or like Anabelle suggested a heavy cast pan would work as well.

I just wanted you to know that I discovered your website last week through pinterest! Since then, I've pinned a number of your recipes and am very excited to try them. Your photography and web layout is very visually appealing and makes it enjoyable to explore.

I tried your sandwich today and it was delicious! I love how simple yet gourmet it tastes. I hope you don't see this as spam, but I thought I would just share one difference I made to the sandwich. I used a faux flax, focaccia bread. The link is below. I am only sharing because I know we're a community looking to eat healthier. It made the carb count drop and the fiber intake spike! Thanks so much for your recipes! Expect to see me comment some more as I make it through the rest of your lovely dishes. =)

I recently quit smoking and have kept myself distracted by looking at your website and making some of these delicious meals! I made this last night but used turkey instead and added a tiny bit of spicy mustard and it was amazing. Thanks!!

I made this for dinner tonight, w/one change; shredded chicken breast instead of the meat suggested, and it was so good. The fresh garlic mayo spread tasted wonderful. The asparagus was tender and tasted better than the asparagus I've eaten in restaurants. (Oh, wait, I also used baby spinach instead of arugula, because it was what I had on hand.) I love using skinnytaste.com recipes! I have finally begun to enjoy cooking again after discovering this site a few months ago. My family thanks you, Gina!